PBS Civics Collection

Grade Level Gr 6 Up

Cost Free

Overview History and government classes have been the primary forum for teaching civics, but concepts of civic engagement crop up across curricula more frequently than ever before. This database, developed by seasoned educators and educational media producers with advisory input from end users, draws on primarily PBS-produced content (American Experience, StoryCorps) and provides resources to educate students about their civic rights and duties, how the U.S. government works, misinformation and misuse of powers, and more.

Civics Collection offers about 180 resources, primarily video clips, along with interactive lessons and time lines. Additional teaching resources and the ability to assign premade or educator-created lessons via links or through Google Classroom make this highly adaptable for supplementing lesson plans and providing differentiated instruction.

Content The content primarily uses public broadcasting sources, including Boston-based GBH Education, as well as information from the nonprofit Bill of Rights Institute and the nonpartisan iCivics organization.

Six topics (i.e., Foundations of American Constitutional Democracy; Power and Influence) further subdivide into two to four subtopics. Users have the option to search for resources that teach or address a skill (building media literacy, analyzing civic engagement, etc.). Exploring the topic of Social and Economic Policy leads to subtopics like Taxation and Spending and Defining the Role of the Federal Government, with 16 resources, including an interactive lesson, a five-minute informational video from We The Voters about the history and future of Social Security, and a five-minute debate between a Democrat and a Republican on whether federal assistance programs should have a work requirement. Resources include a sidebar of varying supplemental content, some directed to educators (often teaching tips) and others for use with students (printable discussion questions, background reading.)

Most of the resources are five-to-seven minute videos. Many are excerpts from flagship PBS programs (Frontline, PBS Newshour) along with content from RetroReport, Above the Noise, and more. The videos are well edited, closed captioned, and will appeal to their intended teen audience. Author Jason Reynolds narrates StoryCorp videos, and many other videos feature diverse young narrators and bright animations.

All resources clearly identify their source. In a few instances, educators see a Sensitive Content screen (which can be dismissed temporarily or for all future showings) noting content, such as emotional or derogatory language, expletives, firearms, tobacco, and alcohol. Videos with sensitive content restrictions do not appear in searches that originate from the student-facing side.

Educator Ease of Use/Visual Appeal The home page highlights a search box and buttons to browse by topic or skill. The main portion of the page on laptops and iPads draws focus to the Civics Collection. Search results display a clean and attractive presentation of names, types (video, interactive), run times, producers, summaries, suggested grades, and support materials. Search results can be filtered (grade level, resource type, length) as needed.

Upon finding desired resources, educators can stream and project, share via a link with students, favorite for later, add to an LMS, or share to Google classroom. Some of these actions require making a free account. The lesson-building option allows educators to save multiple clips, including inserting slides with questions or text. Educators can preview before assigning a project, as well as access tools to monitor student engagement and responses.

A home page link to learn about the Civics Collection offers an excellent at-a-glance introduction to content and features. Short tutorials that address content from PBS Learning Media are clear and helpful for newbies. Help topics are accessible at the bottom of each web page.

Student Ease of Use/Visual Appeal Student view is very like the Teacher view, and they will need to make a free account or sign in via Google to use some features. Links to the site’s privacy policy are available. Students will easily spot where to enter a teacher-supplied code to view and interact with assigned content. High school students will likely be able to search and find content on their own, which can be done without making an account; middle school students may need more assistance.

Verdict Thoughtfully curated resources on a necessary topic. The bite-size, high-quality videos will hold student interest, and the resources, such as an interactive map that can cycle through color-coded state-by-state electoral totals back to 1789, will engagingly add to civics understanding. From Twitter algorithms to a largely animated explanation of how juries function, most resources in this collection can freshen up civics instruction and make a lesson pop.

Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX.